Score

Stat of the Game

w/ Rashad Mobley

The Pacers defeated the New York Knicks on Tuesday night at home, but they needed a 40-point fourth quarter to make that happen. Conventional wisdom says that if the Pacers played the very next night on the road, the team would come out a bit lethargic. Indiana took that conventional wisdom, gave it the collective middle finger, and put on a shooting clinic. In the first quarter of last night’s game, the Pacers shot:

14-for-16 (87%) from the field

8-for-8 from the free throw line

8-for-8 in the paint

They also had 11 fast break points in the quarter (the Wizards had none) and nine assists (Darren Collison had five). Only a yeoman-like effort from the 3-point line by the Wizards’ Jordan Crawford kept this game close.

Scene of the Game

Wanna see a depressed Easter Bunny at a Wizards game?

D.C. Flag 3-Star Ratings

w/ Adam McGinnis, Rashad Mobley
and Kyle Weidie

<***> Rating the Starting 5, Bench & Coach out of 3 stars.

John Wall

ADAM McGINNIS: The out-of-control John Wall from the disastrous first few weeks of the season has officially returned; apparently Wall wants to bookend his rocky sophomore campaign in this reckless manner. Even his pedestrian stat line of 13 points (5-for-13 FGs) three assists, one steal, and five turnovers hides how lackadaisical his performance was in the first half. The calls were not coming on his drives; some were legitimate, but most were him seeking a bail outs from weird positions that only Tim Donaghy ridding the Wizards would have rewarded him on. Instead of playing through the lack of whistles and continuing on the attack, he just conceded that he was done shooting the basketball, period. Wall is the marketable face of the franchise, and fans of this downtrodden team cling to his potential talents by donning No. 2 jerseys, so his response to a little adversity as a competitor is to pass up several open looks from six feet away when the squad is severly undermanned? This is unacceptable and an insult to those rooting for him to succeed. Wall came back in second half with a few drives and hustled a bit before being yanked in the third for good. But the die was cast, the game changer turned into a coddled 21-year old kid who is a long way from being a superstar than most of his supporters, myself included, have been willing to acknowledge up to now.0.5 Star(out of 3)

MOBLEY: Wall’s jumper still is not consistent, and his ability to get to the basket quickly — which is supposed to be his bread and butter — is starting to fail him as well. He gets to the rim, but the degree of difficulty on his attempts is too high, and he’s not quite strong enough to dictate and/or absorb the contact. Need a more damning number? Wall had five turnovers to just three assists, and the man he was guarding (Mr. Darren Collison), controlled the game beautifully with a line that reads: 17 points, 11 assists, and one turnover in just 31 minutes of play. Finally, Wall evidently stole the terrible 360-degree-layup-in-traffic move from Nick Young, attempting shots in said manner not once, but twice. Not. good.1 Star

WEIDIE: Throwing around accusations of Wall being disinterested if you will, but maybe he’s just playing around, knowing it doesn’t matter. There is a difference, you know. The bad thing: it doesn’t seem like he’s improving now. The OK thing: he is creating for teammates, but he’s just being too unselfish. The ‘I’m not sure how I feel’ thing: Wall probably wants to play with Anthony Davis just as much as Wizards fans want to watch him in the new style uniforms. Keep it up John, you’re helping the team get closer to your wish.0.75 Star

TOTAL: 2.25 out of 9 stars

Jordan Crawford

ADAM McGINNIS: J-Craw infamously declared that he wanted to be better than Michael Jordan during last summer, and his self comparison seemed pretty spot-on during the opening quarter when Crawford drained several ridiculous rainbow shots. His 21 first half points were the main reason that kept the Wizards close while the entire Pacers team was putting on its own red-hot shooting display. Jordan finished with 28 points on 11-for-22 FGs, 5-for-9 3-pointers, with three assists and two rebounds. This tweet from Tim Donahue, of Pacers blog Eight Points Nine Seconds, provides an outsider perspective and sums up the J-Craw rocking roller-coaster experience quite well: “I think Jordan Crawford may be the only truly unguardable player I’ve ever seen. Every shot he takes is bad, it doesn’t seem to matter.”2.5 Stars (out of 3)

MOBLEY: Jordan Crawford has the ability to shoot the Wizards out, in, and back out of games all in the span of just one quarter. It is part of his charm, and it’s also what drives Coach Wittman crazy. But last night, Crawford was the only Wizards player who came to play. He went 5-for-9 from the 3-point line, and without his 16 first-quarter points, the Pacers would have been up by at least 20. He did his job tonight, but no one else did.2.5 Stars

WEIDIE: Jordan knows people are saying he shoots a lot. And if you’re looking for your favorite ‘Crawfish’ moment from Wednesday night’s game, either go with Jordan making a herky-jerky move to get in the paint and find Jan Vesely in the right short corner for Jan’s second made NBA jumper midway through the first quarter, OR go with Crawford getting the defensive rebound with three minutes left in the third and the Wizards down seven, and then driving the length of the floor, ultimately missing a free-throw line jumper while only he and five Indiana Pacers had feet in the painted area, and while the rest of the Wizards watched. As usual, pick your poison.2 Stars

TOTAL: 7 out of 9 stars

Chris Singleton

KYLE WEIDIE: Singleton finished with two points, missed a shot, made one, with zero 3-point attempts, zero free-throw attempts, four rebounds, an assist, a steal and three fouls in 24 minutes. It was hard to gauge whether his lack of attempts was an indication of hesitation from his tough shooting night against the Bucks on Monday. Nonetheless, Singleton’s continued presence in the starting lineup indicates three things: 1) the Wizards don’t have anyone else (I guess), 2) for likely good reason, Jan Vesely is not an option to start at the 3, and 3) if Singleton is going to be the team’s future defensive stopper, he might as well be starting games and learning how to defend against top talent now. Unfortunately, efforts like what he continues to display are also an indication that Singleton’s ceiling may be much lower than anyone realized.0.25 Star(out of 3)

McGINNIS: After the season is complete, Chris needs to study plenty of tape on his three defensive games versus Danny Granger. If he is going to have a long career in this league, he must find better ways to slow down small forward scorers like Granger, or he risks being jettisoned after his rookie contract is up.0.5 Star

MOBLEY: There’s a scene from an old episode of Seinfeld when Kramer’s boss looks at his work, is totally confused by what he produces and says, “Kramer, it’s as if you have no business training at all!” That’s how it felt with Singleton last night. He took two shots and made one, grabbed rebounds here and there, but he basically did nothing of significance.0.25 Star

TOTAL: 1 out of 9 stars

Jan Vesely

RASHAD MOBLEY: The good news for Jan is that in the 54th game of the season, he unveiled a good looking outside jumper and a serviceable floater/runner. The bad news is that at various points in the game, he found himself having to guard two of the more physical players the Pacers have: David West and Tyler Hansbrough. But unlike Singleton, who seems to be regressing, Vesely is gaining experience at many different positions, in close games and blowouts, and the moment never seems to overwhelm him — except for some excessive passing in front of the basket.1.5 Stars(out of 3)

McGINNIS: Jan stands for the letter J, as in make that two career made jumpers for Vesely! He even sprinkled in a floater for dessert. Watch out Dirk because Airwolf coming….1.5 Stars

WEIDIE: Jan Vesely got more exposure to Psycho-T Tyler Hansbrough… can’t be bad thing, I don’t think. I love just about everything about Jan’s game. Did you see him get his hands in the passing lane and get a steal before Jordan Crawford’s pass attempt was counted as a missed shot? You never saw Blatche or McGee do stuff like that — their hands were often inactive and at their sides. Those guys were the f-ing worst, and I probably won’t stop mentioning them for quite some time now… so deal with it. And I hate to hijack thoughts on Jan, but part of what makes him so great is the refreshing fact that he is neither of those jokers. Once the Airwolf gets stronger, watch out NBA.1.75 Stars

TOTAL: 4.75 out of 9 stars

Kevin Seraphin

RASHAD MOBLEY: Seraphin looked and played like a bona fide NBA center on both the defensive and offensive ends of the floor. On defense, he was physical with Roy Hibbert the times on offense that he tried to back Seraphin down, which never allowed Hibbert to get completely comfortable. On offense, he still showed that he can hit the short jumper with the soft touch (as Phil Chenier constantly points out). But more importantly, he used his own strength to back down Hibbert, create a bit of space, and get the shot and angle he wanted in the post. It sounds cliched to say he gets better the more minutes he plays, but that is exactly the case with Seraphin.2 Stars(out of 3)

McGINNIS: Kevin continues his impressive post display, notching his second career double-double, and his left hand is becoming a formidable threat.2 Stars

WEIDIE: Development of soft touch on offense? Check. Another amazing development out of Seraphin (mostly on offense, but also some on defense): his composure. He post move against Roy Hibbert late in the second quarter en route to a new career-high of 19 points (10 rebounds) wasn’t the prettiest in the world, but the key part was that Kevin gathered himself and finished the shot.2 Stars

TOTAL: 6 out of 9 stars

The Bench

ADAM McGINNIS: The second unit was key in scratching the Wizards back into the game during the second quarter but was unable to match the same effort in the second half. I have to eat some crow on Brian Cook, because the old man was everywhere. Although his defense still gives you Andray Blatche flashbacks, he was skying for rebounds, draining jumpers and dropping dimes. Cook finished with 10 points, nine boards and two assists. The highlight was his coast-to-coast drive that earned him free throws. More importantly, it produced an

Sub Man of the Game: Brian Cook

MOBLEY: Brian Cook, whether it be due to his rising confidence or the sheer fact that the Wizards have no one else, played another strong game. He had nine rebounds, a 3-pointer, and the most unlikely coast-to-coast play you’ll ever see. And Shelvin Mack emerged from his doldrums with seven points and four assists, including a pretty, pinpoint pass to a cutting Roger Mason.1.75 Stars

Sub Man of the Game: Brian Cook

WEIDIE: Brian Cook this, Brian Cook that… Yes, the old dude dribbled coast-to-coast when ignored by both teammates who didn’t care to get the ball from him, and opponents, who weren’t aware to care. Let’s give credit to Shelvin Mack, who had a nice bounce-back game with seven points, four assists and two steals in 20 minutes off the bench after a stinker against Milwaukee. Mack also led the Wizards with a plus-9 plus/minus… the only positive on the team.1.5 Stars

Sub Man of the Game: Shelvin Mack

BENCH TOTAL: 4.75 out of 9 stars

The Coach: Randy Wittman

KYLE WEIDIE: Randy knows the deal; he knows he’s an interim coach. So he at least he can be refreshingly flippant when interrupted in his post-game press conference, as seen in ‘The Wizards Said WHAT?’ Bless Randy’s heart. He was really able to take all the focus off his players and the dreariness of the game by busting the chops of all media members in his way. He even, in the process, found a cute way to explain the DNP-Coach’s Decision of Maurice Evans. “Well, right now, I didn’t feel Mo was going to do any better on [Roy] Hibbert than…,” the coach said before explaining that they more want to look at Cartier Martin and Chris Singleton at the position Evans plays. When asked if he thought Andray Blatche would be back to help him any time soon, Wittman just kind of threw up his hands, said “day-to-day” and peaced out. You get 2.5 stars for the post-game, coach.2.5 Stars (out of 3)

McGINNIS: The bright side for Randy is that the end is near with only 12 games remaining. A Booker/Nene-less Wizards team really has little chance versus a playoff team like the Pacers. I would not blame Wittman if he snuck in a smoke on his flight to Detroit, because these next to back-to-backs are going to be a long grind.1.5 Stars

MOBLEY: Maybe he should played Cartier Martin a little more, to cure the sputtering offense, but that is nitpicking. Wittman’s Wizards are still severely undermanned, which means he should count his lucky stars that they were even competitive. What continues to be disturbing is John Wall’s lackluster play, and Wittman properly addressed that after the game last night.1.5 Stars

COACH TOTAL: 5.5 out of 9 stars

Seen on the Scene

w/ Kyle Weidie

If I had my choice, Little Frankie Vogel, head coach of the Indiana Pacers, would be my intern. He seems like a chill, young guy… at least that’s my unprofessional inference from his pre-game media session.

Kevin Seraphin sported a purple leather jacket after the game… Unfortunately, he did not don it until after all the post-game interviews were done. So no, I did not get a picture of this.

Immediately after the game, as folks made their way to their various destinations — media folk, to the press lounge for Randy Wittman‘s press conference — I observed Andray Blatche in street clothes gladly pose for a picture with two young fans. One sported a JaVale McGee jersey, the other a old-style Wizards colors John Wall jersey. It was truly a scene with a past-due expiration date, curdled milk if you will, but I did not exactly have the heart to snap a picture of the scene with my phone or anything.

Tyler Hansbrough reminds me of the vacuuming-obsessed, amphetamine-addicted old lady from Requiim for a Dream.

That is all.

End Scene

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:

“It’s called ‘coaching.’ I’m going to coach him. That’s how you do it.”-Randy Wittman being Randy Wittman

John Wall is wasting some of J-Craw’s good performances by scrubbing it up out there. A lot of people want Wall to succeed, but he is coming up way short. This is the time his team needs him to step up the most. He needs to find the balance between aggressive, but controled play. No more half hearted drives to the hoop that result in throwing the ball up when he’s already under the rim. He is letting his talent go to waste and he is getting owned by 2nd tier pgs.

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About TAI

Truth About It.net, Washington Wizards Blog, ESPN TrueHoop Network -- Following the D.C. pro basketball franchise since the 90s and covering them in blog form since 2007 -- Opinion, Analysis, Irreverence, Pictures, Video, Interviews, Photoshops, News, Video, Quotes, Shares, and all the pixels about the Washington Wizards you can imagine.